Cutting grass tyres (tires) for grip?

[guyd]

Being poor - can I sensibly borrow a tyre re-groover and cut off half the diamonds on a grass tyre to attempt to get some grip?

like this:-

[

 

[EddieWalker]

Besides shortening the life of the tire and increasing the amount of damage that you do to the lawn, I don't think I'd try this. Big spaces in tires are there for clearing out mud. Not for traction. The bigger the lugs, the harder it is for mud to stick to the tire. The smaller the lugs, the less noise a tire makes and the better it drives on the road.

Instead, try letting some air out of the tire to lower it's pressure. Lower air pressure in the tire will give you a bigger footprint, more ground contact, and more traction. Try ten pounds, if thats not enough, go down to five pounds, but be warned that you might spin the tire off the rim when you get too low.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[Egon]

I don't know if it is practical but would studding help?

Many years ago on a Sears Lawn Tractor I just left the chains on year round. They were not aggressive chains and did not damage the lawn.

 

[jda1961]

the tires on my lawn tractor would spin a lot when i 1st bought it, they were tubeless so i broke the bead on one side then laid th tire flat on its side and poured windshield washer fluid in the tire til it was full, i think it took 9 galions to fill it, then pumped it back up. that was enuff weight added to give me enuff traction now. no more slipping, it will back up a hill without spinning. the windshield wiper fluid was 89 cents a gallion on sale. been in my tirews for 12 years now. i think i'd do that before i'd go cutting my tires, thats just a stupid thing to do.

 

[radioman]

I agree. You need more weight and wider footprint for better traction, not the way the tire is made with treads. Filling your tires is your best option at this point before going wider. As Eddie said, the cheapest and easiest way is to lower your tire pressure 5-15 lbs less then the recommended pressure stated on the tire will help tire to float and get a better grip. But as a self convinced/converted filled tires believer , I filled mine recently after 2 years without loading tires. I can attest what others have said, filling tires is the best way to go for your tractor. If you still don't believe us, then make a simple ballast box and mount it on the back of the tractor and try it. It can be filled with junk ,dirt, water. try it this way for a week of tractoring and you will be a born believer.